


World's Edge

by Squid_Ink



Series: The Eagle and the Cross [1]
Category: Assassin's Creed
Genre: Angst, Gen, I just really wanted a wounded Connor walking through snow, I kill Connor, I love snow, No It's Not Shippy, Snow, The Connorline is microscopic in this, Within Temptation, Within Temptation - Edge of the World, and Aveline, blizzard, but it's so well written! I'm proud of myself, gods I love these characters, this is so sad, wildnerness, yes - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-16
Updated: 2016-01-16
Packaged: 2018-05-14 09:08:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5737843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Squid_Ink/pseuds/Squid_Ink
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dying of blood loss and lost in a Massachusetts blizzard in the middle of the frontier, Connor desperately tries to get himself and Aveline to safety.</p>
            </blockquote>





	World's Edge

The snow crunched beneath his feet; it was deep and with each step, he sunk up to his knees. The wind was biting cold, another Massachusetts blizzard. His face stung, feeling tight and brittle; snow stinging his eyes; his hood blown back due to the wind.

Connor stopped, gasping for breath. The icy wind caused his lungs to burn due to the temperature difference. He looked at the trail of ruby blood in the snow. They'd be found regardless, unless the snows covered the blood. "The scent would remain though," Connor whispered, his breath coming out in little puffs. Already predators were following, stalking at a distance, watching and waiting for him to give in.

He shifted Aveline higher onto his back. There was a strange sucking-cracking sound as he did so. She moaned softly, a finger twitching. "Connor…" her voice was barely audible in the howl of the blizzard's wind.

"Hold on Aveline, hold on," he whispered and began to move. There was only one way to go, forward. He couldn't go back to the village or the homestead. Their enemies would expect him to. He had to get out of the colonies. Go north into Canada or south towards New Orleans. Before any of that, both he and Aveline needed medical attention.

The mission had been botched. He wasn't sure if it was because of him, his father, or Aveline. He had gone to his father in an effort to talk to him, see if there could be peace between Assassin and Templar. Aveline had begged him not seek such a route, to just kill him. He couldn't, this man was his father, regardless if he was a Templar: Haytham Kenway was his blood. She had left that night.

Words wouldn't work on his father, and the civil discussion Connor hoped to have was rapidly spiraled into blows. It didn't help that Aveline chose at that moment to attempt to assassinate Haytham from the beams in the ceiling. He had avoided the blow and shot her in the gut. Connor had attacked then, but he allowed his emotions to get in his way, and his father had jammed a hidden blade into his belly and jerked it upwards. He had moved out of the way before more damaged could be done, but Connor was sure his father got a nick on his liver. He had shot an arrow at Haytham, not truly aiming and getting his father's thigh, before he tossed his weapon down and slung Aveline onto his back and vanishing.

Now they were in the wilderness, slowly bleeding to death. He shivered. It was so cold. The cold seeped into his very bones. "Just hold on, Aveline," he muttered as the howl of the wind pressed in around them. If he remembered correctly, a cave should be up ahead, shelter would be a welcome, though he didn't think he'd have enough strength left to gather wood for a fire. He just had to keep moving.

A wolf howled. Connor froze, listening and judging the animal's distance. If the cold or blood loss didn't kill them, then the animals would. Connor swore and pressed on. His foot caught a hidden root and he tumbled face first into the snow, Aveline falling off his back beside him.

The wetness of the melting snow felt nice against his body. It would be so easy to give up. Just let the snow cover them up and the animals eat their bodies. He was so tired. Tired of fighting, tired of saving people that didn't seem to care, tired of this seemingly endless war between Templar and Assassin. Just tired.

"Get up Ratonhnhaké:ton!" a voice said. Connor swallowed. He hadn't heard that voice in years. Not since the fire when he was a child and his small simple world was shattered. "Get up Ratonhnhaké:ton!" the voice, his _mother's_ voice, said again.

Connor lifted his hear, tears freezing to his cheeks from the cold. She was standing before him as if she never died. "Ista?" he breathed, voice lost to the wind.

"You are strong Ratonhnhaké:ton. You must continue to fight!" Ziio said, her black braids dancing in the wind. The cold didn't seem to bother her. "Get up, Ratonhnhaké:ton! Stand and fight, my son!"

"Ista!" Connor shouted, surging to his feet, arm out stretched as he reached for his mother. He stumbled, fingers touching wood as he fell into the snow. She wasn't there, of course she wasn't, she had been dead for years. "Ista…" Connor breathed, wanting to give in to his tears. The wind howled in his ears, he heard the wolf again. _Get up_ , his mother's ghost urged him. Using the tree as support, he hauled himself up to his feet, blood leaking out of his wound, splashing on tree and snow. Aveline was nearby; snow slowly covering her. He walked over and picked her up.

Connor shifted her onto his back and continued, reaching the cave shortly after. It was a bit warmer in the cave, since it sheltered them from the wind, but he knew this would be their tomb. Gently, he set Aveline down. She stirred just enough to open her eyes. "Connor…" she breathed.

"Rest," he told her, brushing snow from her face. He allowed his fingers to linger a moment too long on her cheek. A smile flickered across her face.

"Could we… have been…" Aveline sighed, "something… more…" her eyes fluttered closed. Connor knew she wouldn't last much longer. Achilles never taught him much medical knowledge and he left before his tribe could teach him.

"Maybe," Connor said. He liked her. She was cunning and agile of mind. Her smile was dazzling and she was a great assassin, though too aggressive sometimes. They saw the world differently too. She had the background of a lady while he was raised among the traditions of his mother's people. Liberty and freedom meant different things to them. Despite their differences, he liked her; he could see a future with her. "If things were different," he said.

She didn't answer. Connor sighed and lay on his back, his hand naturally resting in hers. He was tired. He'd get up after he closed his eyes. Right now, he just wanted to sleep. The floor of the cave was cold, and his back sticky with Aveline's blood. There was a wolf howling outside and more answering, the pack was close. He'd get up and drive them off in a minute, he just need to close his eyes and rest for a moment.

Yes, rest. It sounded so warm and sweet. Connor allowed himself a small smile.

He closed his eyes.

* * *

Haytham stared at the bodies. The woman was clearly dead, frost outlining her features. She looked morbidly beautiful, the red of her blood a stark contrast to her clothes and the frigid beauty of her frozen features. By looks of her, she was dead before she froze. He knew the belly wound would end her; few people survived such a wound.

Haytham's eyes fell to the young man beside her, his son, a red stain on the right side of his stomach where he'd been stabbed. Connor's hand rested on the woman's and there was a smile on his lips. _So… they are dead then_ , Haytham thought as Charles left his side and kicked the bodies. They flopped lifelessly after each of Charles' kicks.

"They're dead, sir," Charles said. Haytham licked his chapped lips, nodding mutely. "What shall we do?"

"Take their hidden blades," Haytham said. He should have his son buried, but he had no taste for funerals. "Burn the bodies," Haytham ordered. He turned and limped down the hillside.

_I'm gonna run to the edge of the world, run to the edge of the world. Need to find my way home, home!_ _—_ _Within Temptation_

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally just gonna be an FFN exclusive fic, but I'm just so damn proud of how it turned out, that I had to share it here. It's sweet and tragic all at the same time. Also, I recommend listening to Edge of the World by Within Temptation while reading it, since that song really sets the tone and mood of the entire story. I wish I could draw and had a kickass animating program on my computer since I would totally draw this story out and make it into a music video for Edge of the World. 
> 
> Assassin's Creed (c) Ubisoft  
> Edge of the World (c) Within Temptation


End file.
